After the end of World War 1 on December 7, 1918, three men were stationed at a Royal Air Force base in Scampton in the English Midlands. Their names were Lieutenant David McConnell, Lieutenant Larkin, and Lieutenant Garner Smith. On this particular day, McConnell was told to fly a plane to a field in Tadcaster, about 60 miles from Scampton and then return in a second plane with an accompanied pilot. McConnell and Larkin were roommates at the base and at about 11:30 before McConnell took off, he made plans with Larkin and Smith for that night. McConnell and his co-pilot experienced some unexpected heavy fog on their way to Tadcaster. They landed the plane in a field and used a home telephone to call for directions to Tadcaster. They flew back in the air, but the approach to land was too steep and the plane crashed killing Lieutenant McConnell. The crash smashed his watch and it stopped at exactly 3:25 P.M. At that same time, Larkin was in the room that him and McConnell shared. He heard someone walk in and say “Hello, boy.” This was what McConnell usually said when he greeted someone. This figure - standing 8 feet away from Larkin - was wearing the Navy hat that McConnell always wore instead of the usual flying helmet. Larkin had no idea that McConnell had crashed yet and thought he was just talking to his friend. He said “Hello! Back already?” The figure replied, "Yes. Got there all right. Had a good trip. Well, cheerio!” Then the figure left and closed the door behind him. At 3:45 P.M. Lieutenant Smith entered the room of Larkin and said he hoped McConnell would make it back in time for their plans. Larkin told Smith that he was already back and that he had stopped by less than half an hour ago. Larkin heard on the base announcements about McConnell’s death during dinnertime and couldn’t believe what he had heard. When the police heard about the figure that Larkin had saw they called in investigators to research. Investigators talked around to people at the base and everybody said that Larkin was always a truthful person and never had any hallucination episodes before. It is quite the story. There aren’t many possible explanations for why Larkin could have made this up, so it is believed to be a great real ghost story.
Cohen, Daniel. Real Ghosts: Thrills, Chills, and Ghosts Galore. 1st ed. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1979. 116. Print.
After the end of World War 1 on December 7, 1918, three men were stationed at a Royal Air Force base in Scampton in the English Midlands. Their names were Lieutenant David McConnell, Lieutenant Larkin, and Lieutenant Garner Smith. On this particular day, McConnell was told to fly a plane to a field in Tadcaster, about 60 miles from Scampton and then return in a second plane with an accompanied pilot.
McConnell and Larkin were roommates at the base and at about 11:30 before McConnell took off, he made plans with Larkin and Smith for that night.
McConnell and his co-pilot experienced some unexpected heavy fog on their way to Tadcaster. They landed the plane in a field and used a home telephone to call for directions to Tadcaster. They flew back in the air, but the approach to land was too steep and the plane crashed killing Lieutenant McConnell. The crash smashed his watch and it stopped at exactly 3:25 P.M.
At that same time, Larkin was in the room that him and McConnell shared. He heard someone walk in and say “Hello, boy.” This was what McConnell usually said when he greeted someone. This figure - standing 8 feet away from Larkin - was wearing the Navy hat that McConnell always wore instead of the usual flying helmet.
Larkin had no idea that McConnell had crashed yet and thought he was just talking to his friend. He said “Hello! Back already?” The figure replied, "Yes. Got there all right. Had a good trip. Well, cheerio!” Then the figure left and closed the door behind him.
At 3:45 P.M. Lieutenant Smith entered the room of Larkin and said he hoped McConnell would make it back in time for their plans. Larkin told Smith that he was already back and that he had stopped by less than half an hour ago.
Larkin heard on the base announcements about McConnell’s death during dinnertime and couldn’t believe what he had heard. When the police heard about the figure that Larkin had saw they called in investigators to research. Investigators talked around to people at the base and everybody said that Larkin was always a truthful person and never had any hallucination episodes before.
It is quite the story. There aren’t many possible explanations for why Larkin could have made this up, so it is believed to be a great real ghost story.
Cohen, Daniel. Real Ghosts: Thrills, Chills, and Ghosts Galore. 1st ed. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 1979. 116. Print.